Meet the Team

Gbenga Oni is a thought leader, certified Master Trainer, and Leadership Coach with over 20 years of professional and volunteer experience in training development, conflict resolution, and community engagement. Passionate about creating lasting social change, he specializes in connecting the dots between leadership, peacebuilding, and sustainable development.

While at the U.S. Institute of Peace (Gandhi-King Global Academy) as a  Senior Program Officer for the Frontline Peacebuilder Training Team Gbenga, mentored and coached individuals and institutions in training-of-trainers programs. He also led and implemented high-impact training initiatives, including sessions for the Conflict Management Training for Peacekeepers Program. His previous work with USIP includes training for the Border Security Training Program and the Generation Change Fellows Program.

With a rich background in designing and facilitating participant-centered training, Gbenga has worked with youth, civil society organizations, security agencies, policymakers, and industry leaders across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and North America. His expertise spans leadership coaching, entrepreneurial development, resilience building, peacebuilding, conflict prevention, social policy, and community engagement.

He has contributed to significant economic empowerment and conflict resolution projects in Africa, collaborating with esteemed global institutions such as the World Bank, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, the U.S. State Department, the U.K.’s Department for International Development (DFID), the British Council, the European Union, Red Cross and multinational industries like Syngenta.

Gbenga holds a certificate in Leadership Coaching Process from the George Washington University, DC, USA, a Master’s degree in Conflict Resolution and Coexistence from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, USA, and a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics and Extension from the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria. He has completed coursework toward a PhD in Organizational Leadership at Columbia International University, USA, where he is researching the role of transformational leadership in peacekeeping.

A creative thinker, writer, mentor, and enabler, Gbenga’s purpose is to help individuals and organizations unlock their full potential. "Like a waterfall, my life flows in sequential progression, nourishing others as it flows along, producing vegetation and cooling effects. A.K.A. GROWTH."